Rune Factory 4 European Release Cancelled

The European release of Rune Factory 4 has been cancelled, Marvelous AQL Europe announced this morning.

In a statement sent to Eurogamer, Marvelous stated: “While MarvelousAQL has made every effort to secure the title’s release for this territory, it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time.”

The statement continued: “MAQL and MAQL Europe would like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm for their European releases. Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months.”

Marvelous AQL did not explain why the game’s European release has been cancelled, but the first potential reason that comes to mind is the closure of Neverland Co., the studio that has developed the Rune Factory games, ever since the first title. It is possible that without Neverland, the necessary modifications couldn’t be made to the game for release in Europe.

In a statement late last year, following Neverland’s tragic fate, Rune Factory series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto—who works at Marvelous AQL—stated: “As of now, it’ll still remain a secret as to what kind of title we’ll be releasing next, but I can say that the staff members are still doing great.”

My sister loves this game so much. Perhaps Nintendo could step in to cover this? It always sucks when a game’s localization gets cancelled.

British_Otaku

Nice as Nintendo stepping in sounds, I get the feeling that if Marvelous wanted to or rather could stay on schedule, they would have called up Zen United, Nintendo and whoever could help out before they had to say the release is cancelled.

Never really got into this series, but I know that there are others in Europe who did. *sigh* Sorry, y’all.

cloudcaelum

Dat region lock, dat no account system… I will never support you Nintendo, fix these sh!ts!..

ecoutercavalier

Most people don’t get mad about this stuff until a game doesn’t get localized like this.

I hate to sound like a Nintendo shill, but if you bought a 3DS beforehand, then you voted with your wallet saying region lock was okay. If you have a problem with a game not being localized, the blame is entirely on the publisher at this point.

andref

As you may or may not recall, the Wii U is also region locked so I highly doubt people not buying the 3DS is going to send a message to Nintendo to remove region locking. I doubt they would even consider people not buying a system is due to not wanting region locking

Herok♞

There is in fact an account system but I don’t see what that has to do with anything right here

Ferrick

oh i don’t know, the fact that now EU can’t play certain games because the localization to their region has been shafted isn’t already obvious on why it’s such a retarded thing ?

Herok♞

Still that really has nothing to do with accounts, after even thought they have them, no one ever said that automatically makes them universal. After all you forget that Persona 4 Arena was purchasable on the US PSN but it still failed when it was played on a European system, which shows that accounts clearly aren’t the solution for a problem like this and thus are irrelevant.

Ferrick

right, let’s use the only game that is region locked as a defense against a system that region locks their whole game system

Herok♞

Right because I clearly said that to defend the system when all I was saying was that account systems do nothing which was the original comment I made said

Astraye

Between RF and no information on SMT IV, i think it is time i start to economize for a 3DS US. Fucking region lock.

Randgriz

Yeah, lets just keep pumping money into US stuff – im so annoyed i cant get certain things in my own region. Connected online but so broken offline.

Yuuki

thank you nintendo, now i cant play this game…

OlimacFTW

Nintendo doesn’t own Marvelous.

Arcana Drill

Nintendo make portables with region lock, which means that europeans cant import. Ironic, the game have a version in english but many people cant play it.

Yuuki

the think i dont get through is why they wont bring it over?
they released rf 3 in english only too, if i remember right.

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

They did…talking of that game how did it do around here? not good I suppose.

British_Otaku

150,000 in Japan was apparently a milestone over there, it probably did well enough in North America for Xseed, but Marvelous Europe have some sort of circumstances in the way of the localisation.

Odd, that they can’t even push for one of those cheap “digital releases” that Capcom considered recently.

Ladius

RF4′s US version had pretty decent sales for a niche game despite a rather slow start, ending up with 47k copies sold in 2013 according to NPD data leaked on NeoGaf. I have no numbers for the previous RF games in order to make a comparison, but on 3DS RF4 sold better than other niche jrpgs like the Etrian games, Soul Hackers and Devil Survivor Overclocked.

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

I meant the previous rune factory game for Europe since the first three was released here.

Arcana Drill

maybe is cause the developer of RF closed… licensing stuff i guess?

Yuuki

doubt it, since they already had a tentive release date.

Arcana Drill

well, i think the best way of discover is wait to sites try to contact marvelous or flood their twitter with questions.

M’iau M’iaut

That still would be a possibility. If a bankruptcy judge or whomever is the appointed executor is in the mix, they may have decline the rights.

Yuuki

not really, for one main reasons.
The licensing wouldnt cost them a singe yen/or not much but the possible intake could be better then nothing and would help cover more open expenses.

M’iau M’iaut

Yet the release would also leave any rights holder open for potential future liabilities from software bugs, loli sex lawsuits, etc. Then again it could just be a bean counter thing.

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

People are just angry because they can’t simply import like they did with the DS. At least Nintendo can make a few US sales off Europeans if they decide to buy a US console *shrug*/

Yuuki

they dont, but they implemented the damn region lock.

OlimacFTW

I’m aware of that, but officially Marvelous is the one to blame.

Yuuki

i can understand marvelous, but i cant understand why nintendo made a damn region lock.

AuraGuyChris

But it’s like Marvelous doesn’t want to release their games across the Eiffel Tower.

Enzo

Region-lock has several benefits for several groups. Those benefits do NOT extend to consumers, which is why I think you don’t understand the reason why it exists. Different levels of the chain have to worry about different things. The main company, Nintendo, would have to worry about the political level. Retailers have to worry about profit. The local headquarters would have to worry about the ratings of the games.
edit: I just post this and I automatically got one downvote. Must have been a mistake or the person obviously didn’t read anything of what I said and just downvoted.

http://amc9988.deviantart.com/ amc99

The thing is 3ds shouldn’t be region block, if the game developer wanted to, they can make their GAME region block instead. RB the game, not the system.

Enzo

I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard that the part that makes the 3DS region-locked is the cartridge, and not the system. I’m not 100% sure on that given that the eShop is also region-locked.

konsama

It’s the company who chooses to region lock the games IIRC, that’s why digital games can be region locked too, RL’s are not tied to the cart.

Nintendo only gave the (fucking) chance to companies to region lock the games to their will, but IIRCS, is not a requirement for the actual 3DS, just that every single company has put it on rather than go the PS3 way and not region lock anything despite they have the chance.

mirumu

That’s correct. There’s one cartridge that actually is region free on 3DS, the guide to the Louvre. As I understand there’s a few bytes in the data for 3DS games that determines the region. Some hackers recently found that overwriting those few bytes with a different code allowed games to work on any region’s 3DS. It doesn’t allow copied games to play so there’s no piracy angle there.

I see too the following article claims even the version of the Louvre app downloaded from the eShop is region free.

Who said I would buy a first hand console? Nintendo shouldn’t get a penny for their miscalculations aside from the games if I can manage to buy first hand copies a year or so after the original release.

Servant BerserCAR

…

Kotorin

NO THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!

Randgriz

Ahhh europe, love living in europe – reads headline- WHAT!?

ecoutercavalier

I’m pretty sure I can see all 8 stages of grief by checking through the various posts in this comment section.

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Tohsaka

I didn’t even know there were eight…

SirRichard

And just when things seemed to be getting better, of course this had to happen.

PreyMantis

Man, the bad news about Nintendo just keep adding.

Tarkovsky

Not really Nintendo’s fault if a third party dev is not interested/does not have the resources to localize/release a game.

TheExile285

But it is Nintendo’s fault for having a pointless region lock on the system

PreyMantis

I agree with TheExile285. It’s partially Nintendo’s fault because of the region-lock. Although, I still doubt that even without the region-lock, it’s going to make much difference on whether they localize it or not.

RagingTiger44

I thought US had it bad with JRPGs not coming over. You guys in Europe seem to be in a worse position. While I was not interested in this RPG, I understand it’s terrible to hear a game you were looking forward to get cancelled.

Namuro

Well, that’s a pretty bad news right there… I may have to get a US 3DS at this rate, but then I’ll have three 3DS… I think that’s a little too much. I could barely find time to play between the two already.

But ya know what? With all the fans raging about the region lock issue, maybe the thing that Iwata mentioned that he wanted to ‘surprise’ the consumers this year might be the cancellation of region lock!

Now, THAT would surprise a lot of people, and in a good way!

British_Otaku

It would be a pleasant surprise, but I see them being more likely to use a game announcement or price drops than something as niche as letting people play what they want even if it is a strength of all current rival platforms.

AxionAzure

That’s exactly why I think the 3DS region lock is a freaking shot in the foot…

otakumike

And this was a pretty fun game too…

Armane

I was actually going to buy this because for once I wouldn’t have to expect the next Rune Factory to be announced or even released before we got it. Guess I’ll just boycott their games altogether; because there’s no reason they couldn’t slap the NA version on the eShop.

Enzo

I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.

konsama

And region lock will strike again, this kind of news suck just terribly.

Both of my comments I made here got downvoted, even though I am only telling the truth. I feel like too many people lack the capacity to think of anything beyond how it is like in their own shoes. “Region-lock is retarded” and “No point in region-locking” are comments that show this clearly. I am not talking about those who don’t like it, because region-lock is definitely anti-consumer. However, claiming it’s good for no one shows a lack of understanding on why region-lock exists to begin with.

A company can’t do whatever it wants with its games. It can’t disregard laws, potential lawsuits, and the other companies it has to work with to get the sales they do. For example, if a system is region-free, it runs the risk of a consumer getting a game they normally would not be allowed to purchase able to, simply because the ratings system are different.

Another problem is with the content in the game itself. Cultural items that are normal in one region may be considered offensive in another. That in itself can not only harm games sales, it can also cause some customer service problems with the local company’s headquarters.

Last example I’ll give is that in certain regions, games cost more than in others. If a consumer starts buying only from a different region, the retailers in that region will start seeing decreased sales. Those decreased sales will result in the retailers not being as happy and ordering less copies, which gives the game less exposure. This is also an issue.

These are all possible problems that can be faced when a system becomes region-free. Nintendo especially doesn’t want to run into that problem due to the fact that they are still considered a family company and aren’t as hung up about satisfying every consumer need. Sony and Microsoft, on the other hand, thrive on it so they are willing to do it and take the risks for the chance at getting more customers.

edit: I’m almost positive now that the same two people are just downvoting all of my comments here because they don’t like what I’m saying.

TheExile285

Every current gen system but 3DS and Wii U are region free atm >_>

Enzo

Of course. Those “current gen systems” you’re referring to are from Microsoft and Sony. It’s probably best to remember that they weren’t always region free. Nintendo feels like there isn’t much to gain by making a region-free system, while Sony and Microsoft feel like customer satisfaction is a better route to success.

Ladius

It’s worth mentioning that handheld systems were region free till DSi and 3DS, including Nintendo ones such as Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and OG DS.

It’s no surprise gamers are angry with Nintendo about this topic, considering they’ve introduced region locking in the handheld space in the same timeframe when their competitors are going region free even with their home console platforms, despite that market being traditionally region locked since the first hardware generations.

Enzo

I think Nintendo’s mindset prior was that a handheld could be taken to another region and that it should be encouraged to be taken to other regions and still able to play games. Now with the Internet being a very popular medium for purchasing, I suppose they felt like protecting themselves or something.

However, it doesn’t change the fact that Sony and Microsoft haven’t always been region-free. I’m simply trying to make the point that it isn’t so black and white. I personally would prefer a region-free Wii U and 3DS.

Ladius

I think no one is against Nintendo making money, and by now everyone understand the rationale behind region locking, regardless of it generating real profit or being actually harmful (both in terms of mindshare and actual sales) to those who still insist on what is factually an outdated practice.

Aside from obvious issues of consumer convenience (that should never be trivialized), it’s also problematic to see a global company that uses globalization to its own advantage and yet tries to introduce more and more policies in order to price gouge its customers and preventing them to use globalization to their own advantage. The fact its competitors have abandoned this practice even in a context where it was accepted as normal (home consoles) when Nintendo introduced it in one where it wasn’t makes things even harder to accept.

Of course the attempt to limit the good sides of globalization to major companies is a big issue that goes far beyond region locking videogame systems, but shouldn’t be ignored even in those smaller situations.

Enzo

I think Nintendo could benefit more from not having region-locked systems in the current market, but I don’t quite blame them for making their decision given the fact that this is their first time being so involved in online, I can see the rationale behind it. I think next time, they wont have it. No guarantees, it really all depends on what Nintendo decides to take from this generation.

Ferrick

>defends a retarded concept while adding something that’s not exactly true
>gets downvoted
>decides to insult the majority because they didn’t agree

yeah, because that helps your case so much right ?

Enzo

You say I said something that’s not exactly true. If you’re going to say that, I would love to see what you mean. What I said above is not supposed to be universal truths. They are potential risks. I also didn’t insult anyone. I used the phrase “lacks the capacity” which may sound like an insult, but it’s more of a statement than anything due to the fact that I keep telling people how it is like on the other side but they make comments like “region lock is stupid” in response. My case is valid, but it doesn’t mean that region-lock hasn’t been the source of many people’s anger and/or sadness.

MrSirFeatherFang

Alright, we see your thoughts on region-locking. However, everyone has derailed this far enough. Not just you, but many people are not even talking about Rune Factory 4 anymore.

Guys, stay on topic and stop with the childish insults.

Enzo

Normally I would have made this a reply to someone who was talking about region-locking, but it’s pretty much everything that’s going on here. I’m not really even trying to “defend” region locking, just defending the fact that it isn’t something totally useless.

http://amc9988.deviantart.com/ amc99

they can just implement region block in the game not the 3ds system itself. So if the developer think their game should be rb they can do that

mirumu

It doesn’t sound like you actually live in a region affected by region locks because they’re actually pretty ineffective at the kind of things you’re suggesting they’re good for. People just alter their consoles or import the consoles too. Needless to say that has other less desirable side effects.

Distributors certainly don’t like people importing behind their backs, I know of real examples of this happening and the angry phone calls that resulted. That said, some countries consider region locks anti-competitive to begin with and are firmly on the side of the consumer and importer. On the whole though this is a fairly small market. The only people hurt by it are those who are unnecessarily gouging. I honestly don’t have any sympathy for any retailers or distributors doing that because their business model is fundamentally broken. This is simply how the market works.

The idea of cultural issues being a problem doesn’t hold water either. This is the primary reason Iwata’s has given for region locking in the past, but it says more about his understanding of world markets than anything. If a country objects to a game they will simply ban it. This happens fairly regularly across the world. If someone imports a game they themselves find objectionable then more the fool them. I think it’s safe to say however that those who do import are fairly comfortable with what they’re importing.

I realize you’re trying to play devil’s advocate here, but there simply is no even remotely valid justification for region locking. It’s a concept left over from a bygone era that has no place in today’s world.

Enzo

I was really only arguing that region-lock has its purposes, albeit a small one. I was also trying to get people to see that while an individual who buys a product only experiences the negatives of region-lock, there are those who do or MAY benefit. Of course, I am in the camp of region-free systems have more benefits than region-locked on both sides. Nintendo, I think, is playing it safe because of the impact the Internet has on pretty much everything about the video game business now.

mirumu

Yes, I see what you mean. I think that is Nintendo’s intention, but I do think it’s fairly misguided of them. I’m hoping that it’s something that will change in due time after the comments Iwata made recently about re-thinking how they do things.

Hikari Langley

They really should have at least released the eShop NA version to Europe. It’s not like anything would actually be different.

CH3N9

If not this time, when!? At least give an explanation dude! Don’t leave us hanging!

JuVu

I remember when the news about Neverland’s bankruptcy came in, and every European fan was concerned about RF4′s arrival in Europe. “It won’t be affected”, they said. Yet, here we are. Can’t believe this is happening. We’re living in 2014, this kind of bull**** should have died a decade ago.

“Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months”

Yeah, please, do tell me why the **** I should look forward to anything from you anymore after this.

I’m sorry, the anger, sadness and disappointment I’m experiencing right now are just so overwhelming I can’t express them without resorting to profanity.

JMaster3000

I bought my 3DS cause of Rune Factory series :)
After hearing about banktrupcy of Neverland i was depressed for some time, but at least i would be able to play RF4…… WELL FUCK NO! I raged a lot today but now i cooled down.
Btw i’m selling my 3DS now cause of the sour 3rd party support in Europe. I wanted to sell my 3DS afer i beat Rune Factory 4 and keep the copy of the game forever with me but it seems i can’t now.

Learii

this bad for Rune Factory fan in European since Rune Factory 4 is the last game if I not wrong

Enzo

Based on the wording of the article, it isn’t completely hopeless. I think it may be possible that the IP can be bought out and continue to exist, so it doesn’t have to be all bad.

Sentsuizan_93

I may not be a fan of this series, but hearing news like this is upsetting, especially when it’s release was mere months away.
Add in the regional lockdown and this really doesn’t help the fans of the series in EU at all. And to those thinking that the reaction to this news is “silly”, spare a moment of thought to the number of potential buyers that would be upset by this. I really don’t want to resort to buying an NA 3DS for one game, and I don’t want to resort to hacking, which (if you’re not careful) will result in a bricked console.

http://epiclyamazing.wordpress.com/ AzureNova

This is indeed NOT Marvelous =(

gquain

Why am I to blame because I live in Region X instead of Region Y.
It has nothing to do with the language.
If it cannot be localized as a physical copy, let us download their US e-shop version. What’s so hard?
Why do you torment me so much?
Why do you force some of us to import the 3ds version because we didn’t fail to believe in EUs policy and environment concerning these games?

Mordina

Hear ye hear ye!

Bryan

Tell that to pokemon X and Y! Why can’t I get mega transformation for mewtwo in Y on my X system?!

Sorry, had to when you used X and Y region as an example…

(I imported Japanese 3DS just to play Japanese games… I know the pain. Sorry man.)

Serge

What happened to Natsume?

Guest

If only people bought the earlier installments, we wouldn’t have this problem right now. This is more to do with low sales than region-locking. Even without the region-locking, I doubt it’s going to change.

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

I rather hear what they have to say than to assume it was all on sales.

Kamakuma

I second this! *desk slam* And I remember my old Rune Factory 2 days… My friend sat a DS in front of me and held a sharped pencil to my side and told me to play it. (Highschool*shot*)

*blows bubble pipe* Ah… I’ve been a fan since. ^-^

Ladius

This is quite the assumption considering all previous RF games have been localized to Europe, despite most of them being for a region free platform like DS that allowed fans to import the US version without hassle.

Also, there isn’t any public sales data about Rune Factory games for the European market to justify this line of thought (and no, Videogamechartz isn’t a reliable source in any way).

Pdugna

Man if this happens to SMT4 I think alot of people in Europe give up on buying Nintendo systems.

Scipio

This coupled with SMTIV’s situation and the months between release dates in both NA and EU for many of their first party titles really has me questioning the reasoning of Nintendo.

Peace Legacy

Even though I live in EU 3DS region, I specifically order online US 3DS on day one of its release, knowing fully well how the EU regions always get the short end of the stick
While that has allowed me to play titles like RF4 freely, or get games earlier than other people, it creates slew of other problems like how I am not allowed to play local multiplayer with other people around me since their games have different region (50/50), or how having to buy more expensive e-shop card due to online retailers’ jacked up price (the console and games itself are always cheaper or equal price, even with all the shipping fee though… so there is solace in that).
…but still, you just can’t win the system

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

Actually the jacked up price can be solved if you change your console region to Canada Alberta which allows you to use your European debit/credit card…the only issue is I don’t know if you can change your region after the NNID update.

Peace Legacy

…not sure if I can still input debit card in though since I live in Australia (Australia use EU 3DS) and not EU itself
…the mere fact that you can’t input zipcode of your debit card into the 3ds registering bit since the US region got 5 numbers but AU got only up to 4 is… so sad it is actually funny somehow
Retailer like Play-Asia who sells these E-Shop cards for extra 10 dollars, are my only hope

http://twitter.com/#!/kaishou Kaishou

If I recall correctly a couple of my Australian friends been doing this method since they imported their US console. You can just use a random Canada Alberta zip code and it will work without any hitches, even I been doing it without my bank questioning it. That input is really just a door to your purchase. You should try it out with a cheap eShop game to see if it works

To be honest I hate paying more than I should, especially if it’s some sort of cash card.

Great… this is just great. And yet again a game that won’t get released here in Europe… I really regret buying an European 3DS, I do always think that I should always get the US versions when I know things are region locked, but no, I wanted the Fire Emblem Awakening 3DS and it’s still the only game I have for it. There really is no benefit in being in Europe when it comes to games. I feel depressed right now :( Oh how I wished for the 3DS to be region free like the previous one. *le sigh*
Oh sorry, just feel kinda down right now…

Max

I doubt localization couldn’t be done without Neverland.
There were probably other reasons for this decision.
Either way, a shame for EU RF fans.

Will Jay

In most cases to my understanding, you pretty much need the original developers to be helping out unless you want to take forever to code. The exceptions are when games have very simple file structure, but that may not be the case here.

Of course, that’s just what I’ve been led to believe.

Nam

What localization? The game is already localized. Just look at the NA release.

Localized and working. Translated and fine.

Just take that. Certify it. And release it with a different region code, and I would happily throw my money at it.

But now I wish I had never even bought a 3DS.

NeoPancho

That’s 40€ i will be saving then… i would have prefered to buy the game… oh well…

$23890725

And as always European get´s F-ed in the ass when it comes to games we love and want.

“Please look forward to announcements on new MAQL titles over the coming months.” No thank you MAQL if it´s not Rune factory 4 for EU you can go F off and I don´t give a shit about your other crap titles like Runbot or puzzle coaster.

http://www.carpefulgur.com SpaceDrake

I heard about this last week and I knew it would break some hearts. Sorry, Euro-dudes. It’s a really tragic/dumb situation all around.

Whelp, no fuzzy eared bishie for me I guess. :U I’m disappointed, but I probably should’ve seen this coming a mile away.

Klarktastic

Glad my 3ds is from the US (I’m Portuguese and live in Portugal). I
predicted stuff like this would happen. It happened quite allot with the
original DS. Europe gets nothing.

Kaetsu

I may not live in Europe but this is still disappointing to hear. If they can’t ship out physical copies to Europe why can’t they put it on the eShop?

하세요

That still requires certs. Localization is not, almost never, only about translating.

AkiraScare

Damn (TT_TT) Europe (TT_TT)

http://keiserone.tumblr.com/ KeiserOne

Proof that region locking is killing smaller companies. English-speaking europeans could have imported this game to play on their european 3DS…But no, they can’t, now that it blocks foreign games.

SetzerGabbiani

Rating system aside, I don’t see why they can’t let English speaking countries in the EU and beyond get the American release in special circumstances like this. If it has to do with spelling (colour vs. color) that’s a bit insane.

http://www.tenshi.org.uk/ Angie Winterbottom

Grr. You know, back in the era of the nice region free DS, I probably would have already imported myself the US version by now.

The game would probably still be on my shelf because I’m busy playing Bravely Default, but that’s another matter entirely.

If anyone knows of a good, reliable place a UK person can buy a US 3DS XL online inexpensively, please let me know.

http://kuroneko772.blog.jeuxvideo.com/ KuroNeko77

Whelp, it look like going for the Japanese version instead of waiting for nothing was the right choice after all…
And we can’t even blame MAQL Europe as they might’ve been doing everything they could.

Still, the Region Locking is a really dumb move there Nintendo… even more so on a handled.

sakusakusakura_nyo

That’s too bad for Europe. I really liked this game.

TheSwordUser

What the fuck.

The english translation is already done. Yes I know there’s FIGS but for crying out loud. Just few days ago I expected quick news about it after it’s been announced that Senran Kagura Burst will get a february 28th release (it’s being handled by the same company as RF4 for europe)…..and well, there’s the news, except it’s not pretty.

FUCK.

Ladius

Niche jrpgs are almost never localized in French, German, Italian and Spanish, so an English-only release would have been far from surprising.

Lazulis

Eventually, there’ll be magic to remove the region lock, but for now… :C
It’s a shame, EU, I really think RF4 is the best in the series…

Juan Manuel M. Suárez

You know, none of this would be an issue if Nintendo would catch up with the times and do away with draconic BS like region lock~.

People shouldn’t look at anyone but Nintendo to blame for not being able to play this game~.

Scarletmoonwish

Region locking For Europeans it won’t be that simple. Free region locking will cause
less games to go over to European countries, and the people who don’t
speak English but want to play the game won’t be able to enjoy it. The 3DS because free region locking, there will be no reason to localize
games for that area because majority of them will be importing form
America. If that happen more than this localizing company will become
bankrupt. Region locking is put in place to protect sales; the
international exchange rate plays havoc on a universal pricing system.
People would only purchase the game from countries with the lowest
valued currency; so only that region would get tax/export revenue. In
short if everybody buy all their games from US due to not being
patience, Nintendo is better off not selling anything relating to
Nintendo in Europe.

mirumu

That’s not how it’s worked in practise for any other region free platforms. I mean if that were true what you describe would be happening with PS3 games today and yet somehow Sony sells well in most regions and the bulk of PS3 games see a worldwide release.

The reality is that the vast majority of people won’t bother to import anything if it’s available in their local stores and priced reasonably.

Scarletmoonwish

But it is true, look at the price for a Brazil PS4, and a Xbox one. There a reason while those consoles are priced ridiculously high.

mirumu

Yes there is a reason and it’s nothing to do with region locking.

Here’s a breakdown of the PS4 price in Brazil from Sony themselves. The bulk of the extra cost comes from taxes imposed by Brazil. I’ve no doubt it’s the same for the Xbox One.

Ladius

History proves this kind of analysis is wrong, though.

Region free platforms have had at least as many European localizations as region locked ones, and in fact PS3 (the first region free home console) has the highest US-to-EU jrpg ratio ever seen, while Europe never got a chance to play a huge number of NES, SNES, PS1, PS2 etc games, all of which were region locked consoles.

In fact, having a region free platform press publishers to release their games as soon as possible in every market in order to have as many customers as possible not resort to import, while region locking gives them as long as they want to publish there or to create partnerships, which often means having games never reach Europe at all. PS3, again the first region free home console, is the platform that saw NISA going for same-day releases in the US and Europe (often they release their games in Europe sooner), Namco giving Europeans Day One Editions and fast releases (like with Xillia and Symphonia Chronicles) when they didn’t even get the games in the PS2 days, and so on.

Also, we should always remember we are talking about global companies that fully use globalization and market differences for their own gain, for example by exploiting low price Chinese workforce (of course this goes for every hardware company), and the idea that they can reap the benefits of globalization while preventing their customers to do the same is a real issue that goes far beyond region locking videogame systems.

Scarletmoonwish

The fact, is most people are only looking at one side, Europe. Please tell me how people in Brazil who have to pay more than a Thousand dollars to buy a PS3, as my post stated before the sales tax for these consoles are outrageous high.

Ladius

That has everything to do with the Brazilian government’s taxes and protectionist policies regarding hardware built outside Brazil, and nothing to do with region locking systems and software (Brazil is still a NTSC-U country for region locked platforms, it isn’t an autonomous region).

I’m not saying this isn’t a huge issue, and I fully sympathize with Brazilian gamers, but it’s also a different one compared to region locking. If anything, a completely region free environment contributes to make protectionst policies outdated instead of enforcing region specific policies from companies and governments.

Mugiwara

Well, at least you people got to play in English since from NES. Here in Brazil otherwise we started to receive localization only the past Gen, in 2006/7.

Scarletmoonwish

and history also show that Free region locking hurt localization efforts as I said earlier.That is why some niche titles like Phoenix Wright is download only. Why should the comapny even try to localize the games, if fans will just go out and buy it straight form JP anyway.

mirumu

Few people are going to import from Japan unless the game is in a language they can understand. Some of the Phoenix Wright games were released in Japan with both Japanese & English making them a special case, but even then I’ve not seen any evidence that importers hurt the non-Japanese sales of those games. The credible accounts suggest that the number of people who import for any specific game are too minuscule to have any meaningful effect on sales.

If the market for a specific game is too small to warrant a retail release in a country then chances it always was, irrespective of any region locking.

I’d argue the solution to these problems is not a system that prevents people from buying the game such as region locking, but a more viable way of delivering it to them that avoids duplication of effort. As you mention, digital downloads are becoming one such mechanism.

Ladius

No, as I said history shows the opposite, and your Phoenix Wright example actually enforces what I was saying in the post you quoted.

We had five PW games localized on cart on DS, a region free platform, while we got a digital-only, English-only (despite four previous games being localized in other languages in their PAL versions) release of Ace Attorney 5 on 3DS, a region locked platform.

While the AA situation has more to do with Capcom’s questionable policies than region lock, it still shows how region locking doesn’t mean anything positive in terms of localizations.

Ric Vazquez

Damn, another stab on the back of Europe, my soul cries for you people.

Amine Hsu Nekuchan

I wonder why they can’t at least put the English version on the eshop, since I have learned that companies aren’t actually required by law to release in the native language of each country.

Ladius

Either they don’t think it’s worth the time and hassle to go through the certification process another time (the game would have to be certified by NoE even if it has already been approved by NoA, not to mention PEGI and USK), or they can’t change even the tiny bit of code related to regions due to Neverland’s demise or other issues (unlikely, but can’t be completely excluded).

There could be licensing problems, too (kinda unlikely considering Marvelous is the publisher in Japan, and XSEED is factually Marvelous US), or other issues we will never know anything about.

Detrimont

>:(
Well this sucks.
I imported RF 1-3 from the US because Europe released them years after they released in the US, and i’m sad i can’t do the same because of region lock. This better not happen with SMT:IV!!

Hinataharem

I can’t express how sorry I am for you guys across the pond.

TrevHead

The 360 had the best region locking system, IE let the dev choose to make their game region free or not, there were a shitload of super niche Japanese games like Shmups and Virtual On Force that were made RF to keep the western hardcore happy and prop up flagging sales.

We were also starting to see PAL games unlocked for US machines which didn’t have any chance of getting localised over there, plus RF DLC until MS nixed it in the bud.

OFC such a system probably wouldn’t have helped RF4 but if Nintendo are serious about sticking with region locking they need to do it in a way that helps niche games not harm them.

landlock

That’s two strikes for Marvelous now first they stopped Rising Star Games releasing Arc Rise Fantasia in Europe and now cancelled Rune Factory 4. :(

Just make a digital release if releasing a box version cost you too much. We can read english, so just realse the damn game online. Beleive in your fans.

CamulaHikari

And this is a perfect example of why I ended up with both an EU and US console. ._.

shadowind

Look at it this way, at least Marvelous AQL Europe aren’t as bad as bloody Atlus when it comes to Europe PLUS we’re getting one up on our North American brethren in that we’re getting Senran Kagura Burst in physical form! ^_^ And besides, it’s only one game and Marvelous AQL Europe’s PR team could have handled things a lot better with that quote of theirs about how we should look forward to future announcements of their games for European release seeing as they didn’t think that there’d be such a huge bloody shitstorm about Rune Factory 4 getting cancelled for European release!

Kayriss Wins

Hurtville, sorry Europe.

The Crystal Truth

I say the whole region locking thing is still ridiculous. I’m sure the EU players would appreciate a NA copy (heck, even a JP copy) over nothing….

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Tohsaka

Don’t know why people would down-vote this. Name benefits of region locking in this day and age.

Thatguy

Well, dunno, never cared for importing. Maybe, that because i must wait 3 month and pay 250$ for a game? Being in the middle of nowhere is troublesome.
Oh, well. I’m too sad for that. Why English only games going to Europe with delay or canceled? It’s just doesn’t make sense. Even make digital-only, if necessary.

PreyMantis

I’m not defending Nintendo, but I can understand why the region-lock is there. Let’s say a game doesn’t have a release date in Europe, if the Europeans bought the US versions of the game in advance and skipped the European version when it does actually come out there, it would spell as Europeans not wanting the game in their region if the sales were low. This is a bad situation for the Europeans because this suggest that they don’t want these type of games, which leads to less localization. But, then again, people can play any regions of a game which is a good thing for gamers. The region-lock is basically a double-edge sword both for the company and the gamers.

Arcana Drill

Nintendo fanboys and trolls. These are the only persons who can say that support it.

PreyMantis

Less localization, especially niche games. If a company finds that there are less sales on one region (due to people importing from other regions, for example), the likeliness of a sequel coming over is lower in that same region. Region-locking is both a good thing and a bad thing for gamers and a company.

Enzo

I think I should correct you on this. Benefits for consumers* There aren’t any benefits to region locking for consumers, but there are non-consumers who benefit from region locking.

idrawrobots

Someone with actual cancer?

Kirbysuperstar2

Or maybe people who don’t agree with likening something as serious as cancer to “I can’t play my video games”.

ZEROthefirst

I’ve been a Nintendo and Sony guy practically all my life and I can certainly say I’ve hated region locking since the day I imported Mega Man X3 for the PS1 and found out it won’t work (this was before the PS2 came along when I found this out).
The sad day I realized I can’t play every game without paying out the ass to import another console or a region free disc that lets you run an import title… of course Nintendo wouldn’t let that slide with the Wii and a few updates later $40 went down the drain on that.

Arcana Drill

So they dislike cause people are liking a comment? and he refers to cancer as to the industry, you know a metaphor? And in my opinion, region locking is a disease/cancer to the industry, cause it screws many people badly.

Arcana Drill

well you can import things from sites that costs almost the same and with free shipping. And the waiting is only 1-2 months. I would do this for a game that i really would want to play, :D

Yes, this is what confuse me too, even if only english release digital only, give the europeans something! if it was region free i could understand a bit, but with region lock? :/

Space_Ghost

Although unrealistic to think, (I’m a dreamer) simultaneous worldwide release for every major game would be amazing.

Thatguy

Also, not every European can import game.

http://www.thejaystack.com/ Jon Stachewicz

If European localization teams wanted sales so bad you’d think they would get their ass in gear in regards to getting games out in a timely fashion instead of crying victim about how imports are cannibalizing their market

konsama

But is a double edged sword, if instead Atlus with SMT4 for europe, or capcom with MH4, to name other examples, bothered to let alone localizing, just giving a darn date or time window for it instead ofgoing all silent, people would not get that anxious and desperate to end up importing.

If the reease windows were closer, the gap of imported games vs localized sales would be way smaller than already is.

landlock

But it hasn’t done that on the PS3. The PS3 had far more localized niche games coming over then on the PS2 despite it being region free and the PS2 not being.

Ferrick

that’s not a benefit… infact that’s pretty much masochism on your side

tell me, since when has it been a good thing to get even less just because of a stupid one line of code that prevents the machine to play games that the people of that region wouldn’t get

Ferrick

psn lock doesn’t block you from playing games from other regions

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Tohsaka

You’re trying to dissuade a fanboy statement on a console…by mentioning a similar problem on another console and then saying one isn’t bad but one is shit.

PreyMantis

Yeah, I don’t think you know how localization work. There’s more than just a line of code and translating a game.

Well, whatever, I tried. At least it’s more proactive than 90% of the posts here complaining about region-locking instead of discussing why, and I’m good with that.

Ferrick

and i don’t think you know what i meant by that, but eh whatever, not like you’ll understand it

Guest

I’ve a friend who died because of cancer, you and the industry will not die because you can’t play a videogame. You can buy an American 3DS to play your games, i can’t buy my friend back.
I agree with you about the Region Lockin, but you have to think about the things or metaphors you guys do.

PreyMantis

There’s that, but I still wonder about the reason why they cancelled the game. I mean, they could have just made the already English game an eShop release reducing localization costs, instead of cancelling it.

PreyMantis

You have a point. Giving a release date on games to be localize would indeed improve this. It still doesn’t state that a game will release on that region (like this news, for example), but it can certainly a hopeful thing. Speaking of dates, let’s just hope that SMTIV would have one in the near future.

Enzo

I see what you mean. It was a hyperbole about the region-lock itself. I personally don’t think region-lock has any benefits for the consumer. Just the potential for benefits higher up the ladder. It just seems like no one else thinks it’s possible that region-lock benefits a single soul.

PreyMantis

I don’t know. I say they’re about the same in terms of localized games. You make an interesting point, though.

Ferrick

yes, it’s true that region locking does benefit the company more because of more people buying 3dses from other regions just to be able to play the games that they can’t in their region

however, it doesn’t hide the fact that it doesn’t benefit the customers at all, their options are forcefully lessened to either “spend more money just to be able to play” or “not play at all”

Enzo

I kind of think that most purchases regarding region-lock are still in the minority and that this has a lot more to do with the case-by-case problems Nintendo seems to care a good bit about. Swapnote and Miiverse are good examples of Nintendo’s behavior with this.

Ferrick

i think swapnote is kinda a bad example, simply because it was a huge incident and they had to act quickly or else it would be bad for them

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Tohsaka

I think you should be ashamed of even mentioning that. So is everything you’re going to find offensive now going to be called out because ‘something happened’?

I lost my grandfather and two of my grandmothers to cancer. You grow up and get over it. If you can’t get over it you certainly need help for dragging something like that into an argument based around video games.

Enzo

However, any kind of service like that would have that risk and most likely already happened. It is different with Nintendo, though, in that there are a high percentage of minors using the system and Nintendo is much more likely to be held liable. But it kind of ties into the reason why Nintendo believes region-locking is better for them (in cases similar to these).

Ferrick

i don’t really see the connection with swapnotes and region locking

Enzo

Oh, I’m referring to region-locking also being possibly done to prevent people from being able to play games they aren’t supposed to. For example, if a game is rated 17+ in one country, but 13+ in another, a 13 year old can play a game meant for 17+ year olds and it could cause trouble as the parental controls wouldn’t stop it. Though the swapnote incident is more severe.

Guest

I’m ashamed, but i think you miss the point, i was not saying that the first comment shouldn’t have link the Cancer and Videogames together (well, i think he shouldn’t) it was abot a guy who think that his opinions can not be refuted by anyone. Also, i didn’t bring the cancer topic to this. I replied to a guy who get mad because someone point out the possibility of some guys disliking a comment because of the linking.
You guys think that “metaphors” are always ok to use, but things like “This is the cancer of X” are often using so lightly that just show off how little you guys understand the real word. And no, i don’t need to get over it.
PD: I’m sorry for yours granparents.

You do realize that you can easily bypass the PSN lock to get to the DLC content? It takes a bit of time but it’s completely possible.

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Tohsaka

Didn’t seem petty to him but I’m cool with that.

ShinStar

I’m curious, but did you eventually figure out how to get Mega Man X3 to work on your PlayStation?

ZEROthefirst

I don’t have it anymore and I can’t remember the name of it but it was a sort of like the region free discs for the Gamecube and Wii, but for the PS2. Basically I found out about it a few years ago and got to play it on my PS2, but when I moved in 2011 I either lost the disc or it broke and someone threw it away.

So the only way for me to play the PS1 version of X3 now is to put the disc in my PC and start an emulator so it’ll run. A cool thing about it is when put into a CD player or PC it’s actually recognized as an Audio CD and you can listen to all of the tracks from the game. So technically I have the X3 soundtrack CD and game altogether lol. Only weird thing is that the final track has no sound or music whatsoever. I can actually record and show you and anyone else if you’re interested.

Edit: I forgot but the version of X3 on the Mega Man X Collection for the Gamecube and PS2 is the PS1 version. The only real difference between the original SNES version and the PS1 version is it has sharper visuals, remixed soundtrack and animated intros for the bosses and opening (Japanese opening has lyrics though).

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